"Budd Cochran" wrote in message
news
By using only a trolling motor, I won't have any power to spare so,
if I can get it to self-guide, the better off I'll be.

On lots of ramps, the angle's all wrong anyway for driving the boat onto the
trailer.

Based on your condition and towing ability - I would recommend you look at a
20' pontoon w/ a 75 hp engine on it. You can leave it in the water (yes,
there is the dock fee and fuel is a little more expensive) but no trailer
loading, hookup at the house and all the strenious effort required to take a
boat to the lake and back. You show up, crank it and go. Plus the pontoon
will give you plenty of room for doing whatever you want.

Other option would be to get something that fits your needs and dry dock it.

Someone in your condition does not need to be trying to load and trailer a
boat. Plus anything you could tow is going to be very small and not very
stable.

--
Tony
my boats at http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com

"Budd Cochran" wrote in message
...
OK, folks. I'm thinking of getting my first new boat and I need some
advice.

I'm thinking I need a light, trailerable boat ( my tow vehicle is a 95
Chrysler LeBaron FWD) with about a 1000 pound capacity (I'm physically
handicapped and I figure a somewhat larger craft will be more stable for
entry and egress but I need it to be pretty light in weight ( because the
car has only a one ton tow capacity) so I can load and launch it easily.

My physical limitations are from blood pressure and heart trouble,
diabetes
and Post Polio Syndrome.

So, what styles / lengths / brands should I look at?? I once had a used 12
foot aluminum Jon boat, but it was a bit narrow and quite tender when
approaching hull capacity. I borrowed my brother's old aluminum 12 foot
Sears rowboat once and lightly loaded it was fun, but it was a bit heavy
to
cartop (this was before the health probs hit.)

Oh, price is important too. I may go for a used boat / trailer if I find a
great deal. VBG

TIA

Budd

"Tony Thomas" wrote in message
news:EOwuc.17251$3x.8834@attbi_s54...
Based on your condition and towing ability - I would recommend you look at
a
20' pontoon w/ a 75 hp engine on it. You can leave it in the water (yes,
there is the dock fee and fuel is a little more expensive) but no trailer
loading, hookup at the house and all the strenious effort required to take
a
boat to the lake and back. You show up, crank it and go. Plus the
pontoon
will give you plenty of room for doing whatever you want.

Other option would be to get something that fits your needs and dry dock
it.

Someone in your condition does not need to be trying to load and trailer a
boat. Plus anything you could tow is going to be very small and not very
stable.

--
Tony

I wish I could afford a pontoon and dock fees and put it on a fantastic Bass
/ Catfish lake but as the old saying goes, "If wishes were horses the
peasants would ride."

Besides, worry about the boat ( vandals, storms, etc.) would cause heart
attacks 9, 10 and 11 ... if I survive.

I'm looking at a max cost of about $2000 dollars. On a fixed income you
don't make a down payment on the Q. E. III. VBG

I guess I'll settle for all the stability I can get and, as I did on a old
Grumman canoe used by our Foster kids many years ago, I'll make stabilizing
pontoons for it, if necessary. Size, capacity and price are the limiting
parameters for me.

Budd

Now that we have a little more info on what you really want and your use, I
would still suggest a small pontoon. There are several companies out there
that make them and you should be able to pick up a used one in a 14 to 16'.
However, $2000 is not really enough money to get something that is
dependable.

Looks like your going to have to find an older jon boat w/ a small tiller
handle engine on it for that price.

--
Tony
my boats at http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com

"Budd Cochran" wrote in message
...

"Tony Thomas" wrote in message
news:EOwuc.17251$3x.8834@attbi_s54...
Based on your condition and towing ability - I would recommend you look
at
a
20' pontoon w/ a 75 hp engine on it. You can leave it in the water
(yes,
there is the dock fee and fuel is a little more expensive) but no
trailer
loading, hookup at the house and all the strenious effort required to
take
a
boat to the lake and back. You show up, crank it and go. Plus the
pontoon
will give you plenty of room for doing whatever you want.

Other option would be to get something that fits your needs and dry dock
it.

Someone in your condition does not need to be trying to load and trailer
a
boat. Plus anything you could tow is going to be very small and not
very
stable.

--
Tony

I wish I could afford a pontoon and dock fees and put it on a fantastic
Bass
/ Catfish lake but as the old saying goes, "If wishes were horses the
peasants would ride."

Besides, worry about the boat ( vandals, storms, etc.) would cause heart
attacks 9, 10 and 11 ... if I survive.

I'm looking at a max cost of about $2000 dollars. On a fixed income you
don't make a down payment on the Q. E. III. VBG

I guess I'll settle for all the stability I can get and, as I did on a old
Grumman canoe used by our Foster kids many years ago, I'll make
stabilizing
pontoons for it, if necessary. Size, capacity and price are the limiting
parameters for me.

Budd

I've seen several boat / motor / trailer combos on the net for 50% to 75%
more than I can afford. That's why I came here looking for advice.

I'm just looking for advice on what I should get within my limitations and
your talking like I should be independently wealthy before even think buying
a boat. Do I need country club membership as well? Nineteen figure income?

Well, excuse me for not fitting into your requirements for boat ownership.

BTW, Tony, please point out where I said I was looking for anything other
than a small boat. The craft you're suggesting would banned because no one
else could put into the water for lack of room at the lake ( Ok, big pond)
that I fish at. I have one vehicle, a 1995 LeBaron GTC convertible my oldest
gave me for my last birthday. It can't tow a big boat. I live in mobile home
community, fer Christ's Sake, and I have no parking for a large boat.

Now, if you have nothing further, I thank you for your contribution.

Budd


"Tony Thomas" wrote in message
news:NXxuc.21549$js4.14432@attbi_s51...
Now that we have a little more info on what you really want and your use,
I
would still suggest a small pontoon. There are several companies out
there
that make them and you should be able to pick up a used one in a 14 to
16'.
However, $2000 is not really enough money to get something that is
dependable.

Looks like your going to have to find an older jon boat w/ a small tiller
handle engine on it for that price.

--
Tony
my boats at http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com

"Budd Cochran" wrote in message
...

"Tony Thomas" wrote in message
news:EOwuc.17251$3x.8834@attbi_s54...
Based on your condition and towing ability - I would recommend you
look
at
a
20' pontoon w/ a 75 hp engine on it. You can leave it in the water
(yes,
there is the dock fee and fuel is a little more expensive) but no
trailer
loading, hookup at the house and all the strenious effort required to
take
a
boat to the lake and back. You show up, crank it and go. Plus the
pontoon
will give you plenty of room for doing whatever you want.

Other option would be to get something that fits your needs and dry
dock
it.

Someone in your condition does not need to be trying to load and
trailer
a
boat. Plus anything you could tow is going to be very small and not
very
stable.

--
Tony

I wish I could afford a pontoon and dock fees and put it on a fantastic
Bass
/ Catfish lake but as the old saying goes, "If wishes were horses the
peasants would ride."

Besides, worry about the boat ( vandals, storms, etc.) would cause heart
attacks 9, 10 and 11 ... if I survive.

I'm looking at a max cost of about $2000 dollars. On a fixed income you
don't make a down payment on the Q. E. III. VBG

I guess I'll settle for all the stability I can get and, as I did on a
old
Grumman canoe used by our Foster kids many years ago, I'll make
stabilizing
pontoons for it, if necessary. Size, capacity and price are the limiting
parameters for me.

Budd

Budd, we are just trying to offer options. However, given the following
limits:
1. 1000 lbs w/ trailer and all gear
2. $2000
3. Small enough to store at a mobile home park
4. Stable
5. Carry 3 people plus gear
6. Easy to load and unload

If you had stated all this before, we would not have offered some of the
options.

Sounds like your wanting to beat us up for offering options that we did not
know were out of your range until just now.

Goog luck and happy boating. Sounds like your going to be stuck w/ a jon
boat.

--
Tony
my boats at http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com

"Budd Cochran" wrote in message
...
I've seen several boat / motor / trailer combos on the net for 50% to 75%
more than I can afford. That's why I came here looking for advice.

I'm just looking for advice on what I should get within my limitations
and
your talking like I should be independently wealthy before even think
buying
a boat. Do I need country club membership as well? Nineteen figure income?

Well, excuse me for not fitting into your requirements for boat ownership.

BTW, Tony, please point out where I said I was looking for anything other
than a small boat. The craft you're suggesting would banned because no one
else could put into the water for lack of room at the lake ( Ok, big pond)
that I fish at. I have one vehicle, a 1995 LeBaron GTC convertible my
oldest
gave me for my last birthday. It can't tow a big boat. I live in mobile
home
community, fer Christ's Sake, and I have no parking for a large boat.

Now, if you have nothing further, I thank you for your contribution.

Budd


"Tony Thomas" wrote in message
news:NXxuc.21549$js4.14432@attbi_s51...
Now that we have a little more info on what you really want and your
use,
I
would still suggest a small pontoon. There are several companies out
there
that make them and you should be able to pick up a used one in a 14 to
16'.
However, $2000 is not really enough money to get something that is
dependable.

Looks like your going to have to find an older jon boat w/ a small
tiller
handle engine on it for that price.

--
Tony
my boats at http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com

"Budd Cochran" wrote in message
...

"Tony Thomas" wrote in message
news:EOwuc.17251$3x.8834@attbi_s54...
Based on your condition and towing ability - I would recommend you
look
at
a
20' pontoon w/ a 75 hp engine on it. You can leave it in the water
(yes,
there is the dock fee and fuel is a little more expensive) but no
trailer
loading, hookup at the house and all the strenious effort required
to
take
a
boat to the lake and back. You show up, crank it and go. Plus the
pontoon
will give you plenty of room for doing whatever you want.

Other option would be to get something that fits your needs and dry
dock
it.

Someone in your condition does not need to be trying to load and
trailer
a
boat. Plus anything you could tow is going to be very small and not
very
stable.

--
Tony

I wish I could afford a pontoon and dock fees and put it on a
fantastic
Bass
/ Catfish lake but as the old saying goes, "If wishes were horses the
peasants would ride."

Besides, worry about the boat ( vandals, storms, etc.) would cause
heart
attacks 9, 10 and 11 ... if I survive.

I'm looking at a max cost of about $2000 dollars. On a fixed income
you
don't make a down payment on the Q. E. III. VBG

I guess I'll settle for all the stability I can get and, as I did on a
old
Grumman canoe used by our Foster kids many years ago, I'll make
stabilizing
pontoons for it, if necessary. Size, capacity and price are the
limiting
parameters for me.

Budd

"Budd Cochran" wrote in message
...

I've seen several boat / motor / trailer combos on the net for 50% to 75%
more than I can afford. That's why I came here looking for advice.

Contact dealers for Lund and Alumacraft about used boats. For instance, my
14 ft Lund (just the boat) sold 5 years back for about $2000 new. I got a
deal on the prior year's model for $1600. When I've seen them used, they've
been in the $1000 to $1400 range, mostly from private sellers, not dealers.
But I recently asked my dealer about trade in value and he said he'd have to
give me a price which enabled HIM to sell my boat in the aforementioned
range.

I've run into quite a few Alumacraft owners who are also very happy with
their basic models, so those are worth looking at, too.

Finally, a friend of mine let me borrow a 47 lb thrust MinnKota trolling
motor a month ago to see if that was enough power for my boat. If you end up
finding something in 14' range, I'd go one step higher. My primary use for a
trolling motor is to move around in quiet backwater without scaring all the
fish. The 47 lb motor was fine for that purpose, but if it's going to me
your primary means of propulsion, you'll want something larger.

"Tony Thomas" wrote in message
news:EOwuc.17251$3x.8834@attbi_s54...

Plus anything you could tow is going to be very small and not very
stable.

That's not true.

IMHO,
If you are handicapped you should really look into a small used pontoon boat.
They are really easy to enter/exit.

Fredo

Read the thread. I've already addressed that suggestion.

Budd

"FredO" . wrote in message
...
IMHO,
If you are handicapped you should really look into a small used pontoon
boat.
They are really easy to enter/exit.

Fredo